All things home.
There’s no place like home. I’m repeating Dorothy’s famous mantra today after spending 14 of the last 16 days on the road. That’s a higher than normal ratio and not one I want to sustain. I’m not whining but it is real. Jim, on the other hand, continues to work on a project remotely. That means he’s…
One of the best things about spending a substantial amount of time in one place is developing a relationship with the food. Often, at least in our youth, that means identifying “home” with the food from our mothers’ and grandmothers’ kitchens. But after living abroad, that also means associating your new home with new tastes and…
“If you want to make God laugh, make a plan.” So often, the best laid travel plans fall apart under the pressures of missed connections, weather cancellations, and errant baggage. Those are a few of the most common causes for travel frustration. And we have all experienced the outrageously frustrating extraordinary reasons as well….
For almost the entire past year, I have lived from three suitcases which I never fully unpacked. I spent that time in Curaçao on a consulting project with frequent visits to the nearby islands of Aruba and Bonaire. I was always warmly welcomed yet I never really felt at home. Nonetheless, I liked that lifestyle….
Several things have changed a bit around here in recent weeks, as I mentioned earlier this week. As part of my commitment to keep more fresh content on the blog, its time for Jim to start taking a voice here at Jetsetter’s Homestead. Jim Ogden is a natural fit for this website. We share the same life goal of…
The prodigal blogger returns, after a seven week absence, to explain how coach is an upgrade. Yes, that is a thing. I didn’t intend to have such a long gap (yet again) between posts but life happened. We had a significant reorg at work along with eight business trips. I also had a second surgical procedure for the melanoma…
As the last day of 2016 rolls around, it is time to focus on the future. This year was a crazy one, as I outlined yesterday – almost 200,000 miles of air travel, over a month at sea, and high utilization at work make me surprised I accomplished as much as I did on a…
Don’t let my silence on Jetsetters Homestead fool you. This has been a crazy year despite my lack of chronicles. In some ways, I haven’t felt like I’ve had enough to write about (certainly not in the world of mileage program changes or hotel reviews where I never scoop anyone). In other ways, I’ve felt…
I’ve spent many a Thanksgiving away from home – some of them in interesting locales creating a truly exotic Thanksgiving indeed. Its the byproduct of having a career where getting away for long stretches of time isn’t always feasible. Combining paid time off with scheduled holidays is a great way to stretch the time off budget…
Many frequent travelers I know have certain rituals or routines that punctuate their trips. Two different friends have each amassed a large collection of Starbucks city mugs. Others collect snowglobes or Hard Rock Café pins. I collect Alexander Calder. Its not (for the most part) a physical collection – although I do own two handsigned epreuve d’artist…
I have a loose agreement with my family. We can be flexible on when or if I celebrate holidays (birthdays, national celebrations, and religious ones). This allows me to take long weekends (like Thanksgiving) to travel without cutting into my personal leave balance. My mom has no issue putting a leftover turkey dinner in my…
True confession – I love Instagram. For me, it is a great easy way to share random snaps from what may be going on my life on any particular day. I am particularly fond of airplane window seat views (particularly sunrises and sunsets, as well as takeoffs and landings), food porn, and an occasional selfie. I…